Thousands of share scooters to disappear from the Brussels streetscape

"February 1 marks the end of our service in the city. Until then, you will notice a gradual reduction in the number of our share scooters. See you in other cities!" This is the message users of Tier have recently been getting on their app. Until recently this provider ran four thousand share scooters in the Belgian and Flemish capital.

Earlier, another operator, Poppy, removed its 1,500 share scooters from the streets of Brussels. The vehicles are heading for Antwerp, where the mobility company plans to expand its offer.

Big operator Lime also seems to be preparing its exit from Brussels and will provide more information soon, but says it is business as usual for now.

By 1 February, scooters operated by Tier, Poppy, Lime, Pony and Voi will have disappeared from the Brussels streetscape. Last summer the regional government decided to curb the availability of share scooters because of their ubiquity.

The number of providers is being reduced from seven to two and the total number of share steps in circulation is limited to eight thousand, down from twenty thousand. Just before the Christmas holidays Brussels Mobility designated the two operators that will be allowed to stay: Bolt and Dott. The five others will have to stop their share-scooter activities in Brussels in just over a week's time.

Dott-Tier merger

Dott and Tier announced a merger this month. This will have no impact just yet, as the financial operation will only be completed by March at the earliest. The two operators will continue to operate as independent companies for the time being, with Dott allowed to stay on in Brussels and Tier leaving. Tier did manage to secure a consolation prize: it became one of the two authorised operators for cargo bikes (two times 150 units) alongside Pony.

Duopoly

Restricting the market to two operators heightens fears of a duopoly, with both operators aligning their prices to retain profits.

"A rigid duopoly could form a danger," says an industry insider. "Although the opposite can also happen, when price competition between the two arises. In any case, the existing situation with seven providers was not financially sustainable for all players."

"We do not foresee any price changes," says Matthieu Fauré of Dott. "The experience in other cities with two players, for example Lyons or Bordeaux, shows that price competition continues even with only two operators."

Drop zones

Besides the halving of the overall fleet, another measure should counter the nuisance caused by discarded scooters: parking outside designated zones will be banned from 1 February.

The Brussels Region previously announced its plans to increase the number of drop zones from 1,000 to 1,500 in the short term. That target will not yet be met on 1 February. Brussels Mobility calculated 1,332 drop zones will be available: 425 drop zones on regional roads and 907 on municipal roads.